Imploring us to ‘sing, sing, sing…’ along to their extensively emotional discography, Travis takes us on a journey through the nostalgia and the new. Welcome to the stage…
TRAVIS
With overtones of Ian Curtis and Morrissey, Hamish Hawk soon held the audience with a mixture of upbeat numbers and humourous patter. Despite being largely unknown in the hall, appreciation grew during their short set and it was clear that they won several new friends. Whether that be for his lyrics – often filled with wit and reflection – or his charming, honest chat between each song, Hawk proves to be one of the most exciting new wave British artists on the scene right now.
Despite almost three decades, Travis are so obviously a group of musicians who love their craft and each other more than ever. They start with Bus, the lilting and catchy opener from the new album; an ode to escapism, it’s a fitting beginning to a transportative gig. They follow with 1999’s Driftwood which receives a rapturous reception, the crowd absolutely belting out every word. Nostalgia is a word which gets thrown around a lot these days – it seems every industry is rushing to bank in on any shred of positive emotional connection to the past – but this was nostalgia in its purest, most concentrated form.
“It doesn’t get any better than a venue like this – I can see you all! Hello!”
On they play through Good Feeling and Re-Offender, the first of three “f**k you” songs that stud the setlist. The song follows frontman Fran Healy’s defiant and salient advice: “Don’t ever confuse niceness for weakness”. The joy in the performances is obvious and palpable. Healy belts out tunes like a young’un, while teddy-boy bassist Dougie Payne slinks and smirks behind his instrument (it’s unknown if this is the cause of someone fainting half-way through the set. Which, props to the band: they handled this with the utmost care for the fan).
Selfish Jean bounces along on a rhythm section reminiscent of Lust for Life. Spiky and forthright, it leads to the poetic observations of their new song, Raze the Bar. The main set ends with Turn, another belter from the turn (no pun intended) of the century. The melodies are memorable, but it’s the depth of the instrumentation and the finely tuned sound that strikes you when you hear tracks like this live.
Post-encore, they return to perform a cover of …Baby one More Time, the Max Martin penned, Britney Spears mega-hit. It’s a blast. It’s highly unexpected. It somehow works. Flowers in the Window arrives with an incredibly sweet moment, where all four band mates huddle together around Healy and his acoustic guitar, leading a beautiful sing-along. The togetherness of this group is a hugely heartwarming sight.
It ends with Why Does it Always Rain on Me? accompanied – as is tradition – by some heavily encouraged bouncing. By the time of the last chorus, the joy within this room is unfettered. It’s been a long road for Travis, but if it leads to more gigs like this, it was worth every step.
TRAVIS PERFORMED WEDNESDAY 10TH DECEMBER
WORDS: TALIA ROBINSON
ROCK CITY NOTTINGHAM
We’re not only Nottingham’s favourite venue and nightclub – we’re the UK’s best live venue with a rich history of performers that have played here. A mahoosive thank you to Travis for taking us on this emotional journey with them!
Also while you’re at it, why not check out our gig guide and see if any other of your favourite artists like Travis are playing soon! We also have our club nights on a Thursday (Tuned), Friday (Get Lucky) and Saturday (Rebel Rebel) so check those out too!
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